Back For You
by jellybean96
Summary: When Skye is injured while on the run with Grant, he sends her back to SHIELD, hoping they'll keep her safe. All he leaves her is a letter and a promise to come back for her when he's done what he needs to do.


**Hey babes! I have a new story for you guys! This is one of my favorite pieces I've written. I've had this written for quite a while, but I was holding off on posting it until I found the right moment. And with the start of the new season last night, even though there was no Skyeward, I feel like it's as good a time as any. :)**

 **Couple of things you should know.**

 **First, this is based off of a song I absolutely love called** _Back For You by MAX_ **, hence the title of the story. It's a really great song, you should give it a listen.**

 **Second, there's a bit of canon divergence here. In the beginning of season 2, when Skye goes down to interrogate Ward, she decides to hear everything he has to say. Obviously not all at once, but over those first few episodes. And she realizes she still has strong feelings for him. So the canon divergence happens at** _A Fractured House._ **When Ward escapes from the truck, he and Skye meet up somewhere and run off together.**

 **And then this story starts maybe a couple months or so after they ran off.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Feeling a massive pounding at the base of her skull, Skye groans as she opens her eyes, and then closes them again quickly at the bright lights shining down on her. Slowly opening up her eyes, she takes in the space around her. All she sees is windows everywhere around her, as well as unidentifiable machines in different areas of the room.

She reaches her hand around to the back of her neck to try and relieve some of the pressure, only for it to be stopped by something tugging on her arm.

Looking down, she sees an IV stuck in her arm, pumping what looks to be blood into her system.

She furrows her brows, "What the…"

"Oh good, you're awake now."

She turns towards the door to see Jemma entering the room, her lab coat on and a tablet in her hand.

"What happened?" Skye asks quickly. "Why am I here?"

"First, before I tell you anything, you need to calm down. We don't want your blood pressure or heart rate getting too elevated," Jemma tells her as she walks towards one of the machines.

"Just tell me why I'm here," Skye demands.

"All I know is you were extremely injured when we found you."

"Found me where?"

"I believe it was a motel. We were sent the name and place of the motel and were told to come quickly. When we got there, all we found was you."

Skye's eyes go wide, "Grant!"

"What?" Jemma furrows her brows. "What does that monster have to do with any of this?" She gasps, "Is he the one who hurt you?"

"What? No," Skye shakes her head. "He didn't hurt me. He wouldn't do that."

"Then why did you just shout his name?"

"Because he isn't here. And if he isn't here, then he must still be out there somewhere. I have to find him," she sits up in the bed, despite the pain in her side, and begins trying to detach the IV from her arm.

"Stop!" Jemma shouts, rushing forward to still Skye's hands. "Skye, stop! You need to leave the IV in. You had already lost a lot of blood when we found you. This is helping you."

Skye sighs, "Fine. But I need to know where Grant is."

"I'm afraid we can't tell you that."

Skye and Jemma both turn their heads to see Coulson standing in the doorway.

"What are you talking about?" Skye asks him.

Coulson looks over at Jemma, "Simmons, could I have a moment alone with Skye?"

"Yes, of course, sir. I'll just be over in the lab if I'm needed," she tosses Skye a smile as she turns and makes her way out of the room.

"Okay, talk," Skye says sharply, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "What do you mean you can't tell me? I know Grant; he wouldn't just leave me alone in a motel without telling me he was going somewhere. Or telling someone else to tell me."

Coulson sighs and steps forward, "So you don't know where he is?"

"Of course not. If I did, I'd probably be there with him. Which is where I should be right now; he wouldn't just leave me."

Coulson stops by the side of her bed, sitting down on the edge of it. He lets out a sigh, "Ward is the one who told us to come and get you."

"What?" Skye exclaims. "Why would he do that?"

"You were injured pretty badly. You lost a lot of blood from a stab wound on your side and you had a slight concussion."

"But he knows how to take care of stab wounds. Why did he call you guys?"

"This is the message he sent us," he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone, opening it up. "It was encrypted so Fitz had to crack it." He hands the phone over to her.

"Yeah, I set up an encrypted line for the two of us. That's probably what he used." She takes the phone and looks down at the message. _Skye is injured. Las Vegas. Motel 6. Room 109. Come quick._

Skye looks up at Coulson, "So you guys came and he just let you bring me back here?"

"He wasn't there," Coulson tells her.

"What?"

"When we arrived at the motel the door was unlocked. We went in expecting to find him there with you, but he wasn't. Then we saw you lying unconscious on the motel bed, a towel wrapped tightly against your side. This note was lying next to you," he reaches into his jacket and pulls out a small sheet of paper.

Skye takes it from him and reads it, _Please patch her up and make sure she's okay. Keep her safe at wherever your base is. I'm sorry I let this happen._

"This doesn't explain what happened," Skye says to Coulson as she crumples up the paper and tosses it to the side.

"I know," Coulson nods his head. "And I think that's where this comes in," he reaches into his jacket one last time and pulls out a sealed envelope, handing it over to her. "This was sitting on the bedside table. It's addressed to you."

Skye takes the envelope from him and stares at the front, seeing her name written in Grant's handwriting.

"I'll leave you alone to read that."

She stares down at the envelope, "Yeah, okay."

Coulson gives her a small pat on the leg before standing up and making his way out of the room.

After he leaves, Skye continues to stare at the front of the envelope for a minute more. She's trying to bring herself to open it and read it, not sure if she wants to know what's inside.

Taking a deep breath, she flips the envelope over and rips open the seal, pulling out the paper from inside.

She unfolds it and then reads over it carefully and with baited breath.

 _Skye,_

 _I know you're probably upset with me for leaving you like this. I'm really sorry. I didn't want it to be this way, I swear. You have to know that if I didn't have to leave you like this right now, then I wouldn't. But it's not safe for us to be around each other right now, especially you around me. The world is out to get us, well, me. And when I say the world, I mean certain people. And I don't want you to get caught up in the middle of any of it. You mean way too much to me. This is some dangerous stuff I have to do. But don't worry too much about me. I promise you I'll be okay._

 _This is stuff I need to do, you know that. You tried to help me and it got you hurt. I know you probably want me to, but I can't turn back, not when I've finally figured out what I need to do and be right now. So I have to leave you with Coulson and the others. It doesn't feel right to be apart from you for however long this is going to take, but it has to be done. You know I'd give anything to be with you again. But not right now. Right now I have to do this alone. I can't risk you getting hurt again because of me. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something serious happened to you._

 _I don't know what'll happen to us if we're away from each other for so long; it might hurt us, or it could make us stronger. I don't know. But if being apart from me is too hard for you, then do what you have to do. I'll understand whatever you choose. Just know that while I'm away my heart will stay with you. You've had it since the moment we met and I don't think you ever gave it back to me, so you don't have to worry about the possibility of me finding someone else to fall in love with while I'm gone. You're the only one for me, you know that._

 _Please, stay safe and don't come looking for me. You won't be able to find me. But I promise you, when I'm all done with this, I'll come back for you. I'll be back someday soon for you, and then we can run away together and continue our life, or we can stay where you are. Whatever you want, that's what we'll do. Just as long as we're together._

 _I love you so much, Skye._

 _Never forget that._

 _-Grant_

"He's gone," she says to herself as she folds the letter back up, tears building in her eyes. Stuffing the paper back into the envelope, Skye fights back the tears that are threatening to fall.

Leaning off to the side, she sets the envelope down on the table next to her bed and then lies on her uninjured side. Curling into herself, despite the slight pain she feels in her other side; she closes her eyes and falls asleep.

* * *

"Hey Skye," Bobbi speaks up as she enters the lounge, "did you get that file for me yet?"

"Um, yeah," Skye replies, not looking up from her laptop. "Didn't I give it to you already?"

"Nope," Bobbi shakes her head. "I think I would have remembered."

"Oh, okay. One second," she moves her laptop off of her lap and then stands from the couch. She walks over to one of the tables against the wall and searches through the stack of files sitting on top of it. "Um…here it is," she holds up the correct file for Bobbi.

"Great, thanks," Bobbi takes the file from Skye and turns to make her way out of the room. She stops in the doorway and turns around to see Skye sitting back on the couch and pulling her laptop back into her lap. "Skye?"

"Yeah?"

"A few of us are heading out to one of the local bars later tonight and I was wondering if you want to come with us."

Skye shrugs, "I don't know. Maybe."

"Okay, well if you want to come with us, we'll be leaving at like 7ish, I think."

"Okay, cool."

Bobbi watches Skye for another moment before turning and leaving the room.

* * *

"So, are we going to go now, or not?" Lance asks Bobbi as the group of agents piles into the multiple SUV's in the garage.

"Just a few more minutes," Bobbi replies.

"Bob, we all want to go out to a bar and get as drunk as this job will allow us to get. We're going to leave without you."

"No you won't," she tells him. "And I'm just waiting to see if Skye's going to come with us."

"I don't think she wants to come with us."

"You don't know that."

He shrugs, "Maybe not. But she's still hung up on that Ward guy. I don't think she wants to go out with a big group of us when she's crying over him."

"But she hasn't been crying, that's the thing. And maybe it'll help her take her mind off of him for a little while if she's out with a bunch of people I hope she views as her friends."

"Well I don't see her. I don't think she's coming with us. Now let's go, please." He steps up into the passenger side of the SUV and shuts the door.

Bobbi sighs before moving around to the drivers' side of the car. She pulls the door open and is about to climb in when she hears footsteps behind her on the cement floor.

Turning around, she sees Skye slowly approaching the SUV.

"Hey," Skye says. "Is that offer to go with you guys still available?"

Bobbi smiles softly, "Of course. Climb in." She gestures with her head to the SUV and Skye gives her a tight lipped smile before climbing into the backseat.

"Nice of you to join us," Lance says to Skye once she climbs in.

Skye shrugs as she buckles herself in, "Figured I needed to get off the base. Besides missions and supply runs."

"We all need to get out and have some fun every once in a while," Bobbi states as she starts the car. "Now then, let's go have some fun." Giving Skye a smile through the rear view mirror, Bobbi pulls the car out of the garage and onto the road.

* * *

"I can't listen to her anymore," Jemma sighs heavily as she makes her way over to the bar where Bobbi is leaning back against it, a beer bottle in her hand.

"What do you mean?" Bobbi asks her.

"Skye. She keeps talking about that… man, and I can't stand to listen to any of it anymore."

"What exactly is your problem with him anyways?" Bobbi asks as she lifts her beer bottle to her lips.

"He lied to our entire team, Bobbi. About everything."

"We work for a super secret spy organization; it's kind of in the job title to lie."

"Yes, but we were a team. We all worked together and lived together. And then we find out he'd been working for Hydra the whole bloody time."

"Do you know why?"

"I don't need to know why. He's an evil psychopath who doesn't deserve to have someone like Skye in his life. May should have just killed him instead of injuring him."

"Wow. That's pretty harsh, Jemma."

"Yes, well, he tried to kill me and Fitz by sending us to the bottom of the ocean in a med pod."

"Aren't those things supposed to float?"

"Yes, they are."

"Then he probably knew that, right? I mean, he was trained as a specialist, we're supposed to know things like that. Just in case something happens. I mean, he may have been Hydra, but he was still trained by SHIELD."

Jemma's eyes go wide, "Are you seriously trying to defend the man who tried to kill me and Fitz?!"

"No, I'm not. I just never really knew him before, only heard things here and there about how good of an agent he was."

"Yes well, be thankful you didn't know him before."

"Really? Because from what I've heard, before the big Hydra bombshell, Ward was actually a pretty decent guy."

"It was all just an act. He didn't care about any of us, not really."

Bobbi raises an eyebrow, "You sure about that? Because according to Skye, he loves her."

Jemma scoffs, "That man is incapable of love. He doesn't know what love is."

"I don't know," Bobbi says as she looks towards Skye. "Skye seems pretty sure he loves her."

* * *

"Sometimes I wonder why I even believe him," Skye slurs her words as she talks to Lance and a handful of other agents sitting around one of the tables in the bar. "I wonder why I believe every single word that comes out of his mouth. Because since the day we met, everything he ever said to me was a lie. He lied over and over, but now somehow I believe him. How is that even possible?"

"I don't know," Lance replies.

"And you know what else?" Skye asks rhetorically. "I actually love him." She lets out a small laugh and then swallows, "He lied to me, betrayed me and the team, and somehow I manage to love him."

"Love is crazy, isn't it?" Lance says.

"But I also hate him," Skye continues. "I hate him for leaving me here. And it's not that I hate the team, I just, he and I were supposed to explore the world together. Just live our lives under no one's rule or watchful eye. Just be ourselves and see where the road takes us."

"So why did he leave you?" Lance asks.

"Apparently it was to keep me safe," Skye exclaims. "But the jerk just left me to die."

"I'm sure that's not true."

"He left me in a damn hotel room with a concussion and a stab wound in my side."

"Do you know why?"

"Because he's a jerk," Skye tells him and then takes a large swing from her beer. She swallows, "But according to the letter he left for me, he did it to keep me safe. According to him I'd be safer if I wasn't with him. But he's wrong. Absolutely wrong." She can feel tears starting to build up in her eyes.

Panicking when he notices the tears, Lance glances over at Bobbi and waves her over.

"He's completely wrong," Skye says as she lifts her beer bottle to her lips. She swallows thickly, "I'd much rather be unsafe with him than completely safe without him."

"Skye?" Bobbi speaks up to the younger agent as she approaches the table.

Skye looks up at Bobbi with tears in her eyes. "Bobbi," she chokes on her tears. "Why isn't he here?" She exclaims as the tears start streaming down her face. "It's been three months! Why isn't he back?! He said he'd come back for me! He promised he would!"

Bobbi kneels down in front of her, "I know he did. And he'll be back, he promised you he would. And something tells me he keeps his promises to you. So he'll be back."

"But when?" Skye cries. "I miss him so damn much! I just, why isn't he here, Bobbi?! What if something bad happened? What if he's dying and I can't be there for him? Where is he, Bobbi?!" Skye falls out of her chair and right into Bobbi's arms, letting the dam break and the tears fall down her face, soaking Bobbi's shirt.

Bobbi just holds Skye as she cries, running one hand up and down her back. Looking up at Lance, Bobbi lets out a sigh, "I think we need to get her back to the base."

Skye's head shoots up, "No." She shakes her head, "I don't want to go. I'm fine, I want to stay."

"Skye, you're pretty drunk right now. And you're really emotional too. I think what'll be best for you is if we take you back to the base and you can sleep this off, okay?"

Skye nods her head. "Okay," she whispers.

"Great," Bobbi smiles. "Do you think you can stand up and walk by yourself?"

"Definitely," Skye nods her head. She goes to stand up only to fall back down into Bobbi's arms. "Okay, I can't walk by myself."

"I figured as much," Bobbi smiles. She looks over her shoulder and locks eyes with Mack. He nods his head. She looks back down at Skye, "Skye, Mack is going to carry you to the SUV, okay?"

Skye nods her head, "Okay."

Bobbi looks up at Mack and nods her head.

Mack makes his way over and stoops down so he's level with Skye. "Hey Skye," he says to her, "I'm gonna carry you back to the car now, alright?"

"Okay," Skye nods her head slowly and then lifts her arms up towards Mack.

Mack smiles and then leans forward, wrapping one arm under Skye's legs, the other under her back. Skye wraps her arms around Mack's neck, leaning into him.

Lifting with his knees, Mack stands up and slightly adjusts his hold on Skye, making sure she won't fall.

"You're so strong," Skye mumbles as her head lolls to the side. "You know who else is really strong and can lift me?" she asks no one in particular. "Grant is," she says, beginning to cry softly again. "I miss him so much."

"I know you do, Skye," Bobbi smoothes some of her hair back out of her face. She looks up at Mack, "Get her back to the car. I'll get everyone else gathered together."

"You got it," Mack nods at her once before turning and carrying Skye out of the bar and to the car, Lance right beside him.

* * *

"Agent Morse," Coulson speaks up, stopping Bobbi in her path down one of the hallways of The Playground.

"Sir," she says in reply.

Coulson steps forward, "Have you seen Skye? I can't find her."

"Have you tried the gym?" Bobbi asks. "I've noticed she's been spending a lot more time in there lately."

"I have not checked there yet. But I will now, thank you," he gives her a smile.

"No problem," she smiles back, continuing on her path through the base.

Coulson sighs and then makes his way through the base and towards the gym.

* * *

Once he enters the gym, he stops and leans against the doorframe, watching Skye for just a moment.

She's dressed in a pair of yoga pants, a grey tank top, and tennis shoes. Her hair is pulled back into a messy bun and her hands are wrapped. She's standing in front of the punching bag, throwing punch after punch at it.

"What did that bag ever do to you?" Coulson speaks up, alerting Skye to his presence.

She stops punching and looks over at him. "Nothing," she breathes heavily as she stops the bag from swinging. "But I'm sure you'd rather me risk damaging a punching bag than one of your agents."

"That depends on who you might damage," he tries to joke as he pushes off of the wall and walks towards her.

She looks down at the ground and gives a small smile as she fidgets with her wraps. Then she looks up at him, "Not to be rude, but is there a reason you came down here? Because I'd really prefer to work out alone, if you don't mind."

"You want to tell me what's going on with you?" he asks, getting closer to her and folding his arms in front of him.

"Not really," she replies, turning back to the punching bag. "There's not much to tell," she throws a punch at the bag.

"Okay," he nods his head, not at all believing her. "Shower and then be up in my office in 20 minutes."

"Yes sir," Skye responds, giving the bag a few more punches.

* * *

"You wanted to see me up here?" Skye says as she enters Coulson's office.

"Yes, thank you. Have a seat," he motions to one of the chairs in front of his desk.

Skye moves over to the chair and sits down, "I'm not in trouble, right? Because I don't think I've done anything that should get me into trouble."

Coulson shakes his head, "No. You aren't in trouble. I'm sending you on a mission."

"Okay, who else is coming with me?"

Coulson shakes his head again, "No one else. It's a two-man mission. You and I will be on it."

"Am I running back-end?" she asks.

"No. I am. You'll be out in the field."

"Oh, wow. Okay. What's the mission?"

Coulson grabs a file off of his desk and holds it out to her, "We received a message earlier today from someone who says they have vital intel for us."

Skye looks up from the file and furrows her brow, "Did they say who they were?"

Coulson shakes his head, "All we received was a place and time for the meeting."

"Why are you bringing me?" She asks as she closes the file and holds it in her lap. "Why not Bobbi? Or Tripp?"

"Something tells me you're the person I should bring."

"Okay," she says slowly. "So, when are we leaving?"

"In about three hours. Go get ready and then meet me down in the garage."

"You got it," she says as she stands up from the chair and then makes her way out of the room.

* * *

"Is this where I'm meeting the informant?" Skye asks Coulson as he drives the SUV down a cobblestone street.

"I believe so, yes," Coulson replies, pulling into a parking lot nearby and parking the car.

"An outdoor café is way beyond cliché for intel trading," Skye smiles.

"Maybe. But this is where the informant wants to meet up."

Skye sighs, "Okay. What do I do?"

"Go sit at the table dead center, facing the café. The informant will show when they think it's safe to do so."

"Why dead center?" Skye asks. "Isn't that a little risky?"

"That's what the informant said to do."

"And we never question the informants," Skye replies.

"Not if we want the intel they have."

"Yeah, yeah. Can I go now?"

"Of course, be careful."

"I will," she smiles softly at him before opening her door and climbing out of the car.

Making her way towards the table sitting dead center, Skye subtly looks all around her, taking in everything around her.

Once she reaches her table, she sits down facing the front of the café and then waits.

After a few moments of her sitting at the table, fiddling with the settings on her phone, a waiter approaches her.

"Good afternoon, miss," the man says.

"Hi," she smiles up at him.

"I have a note for you, left by a man just a few minutes ago."

Skye furrows her brows, "Okay."

The man reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small sheet of paper and hands it over to Skye.

Skye takes the paper from him with a grateful smile and then watches as he walks away to attend to some other customers.

Looking down at the paper in her hand, she unfolds it and reads the note. _Thanks for showing up. Now turn around._

Furrowing her brow again in confusion, she sets the note down on the table and then looks over her shoulder.

She gasps and tears spring to her eyes when she sees who is walking towards her. She immediately stands up from her chair and quickly makes her way away from the café, towards the man walking towards her.

"Grant!" she exclaims as she jumps up into his awaiting arms, wrapping her own arms tightly around his neck. She buries her face deep into his neck, letting her tears fall. "I missed you so much," she says through her tears.

"I missed you too," he replies, holding her tightly in his arms and breathing in the scent of her shampoo that he missed so much.

Pulling back slightly, but still within his arms, Skye looks him right in the eyes, "Are you here for real? You aren't going to leave me again?"

He smiles and shakes his head, "No. I'm with you for good now. Wherever you want to go, whatever you want to do, I'm right there with you."

She grins and then moves her hands to his face, pressing her lips hard against his. She pours four months of missed kisses into that single kiss.

Grant happily kisses her back, pulling her closer against his body, not wanting to let her go again.

After a moment of kissing, due to the need for air, the pair breaks apart.

"How did you know I'd be here?" Skye finally asks him as she catches her breath.

"I had a little help," he tells her.

Skye tilts her head in confusion and then her eyes go wide, "Coulson?! Coulson helped you?"

He smiles and nods his head, "Yeah. I sent him a message asking how you were. He told me you were doing okay, but that you really missed me. So I told him I was done with what I had to do and I wanted to see you again. He told me to come here at this time and to leave a note for you. So I did."

"He knew it was you the entire time? Why didn't he tell me?"

"I wanted to surprise you," he tells her.

"Well I'm certainly surprised," she says, running her hands through his hair and then resting them on the back of his neck.

"I'm glad, he smiles. "You don't know how much I missed you while I was away."

"Probably about the same as how much I missed you. I cried about you, you know."

"You did?" He smiles and raises an eyebrow.

She nods her head, "Yeah, but I was super drunk when I did."

"So you got drunk over me too?" he asks with a small smile.

"Yes, I did. I will admit that. But we are never to speak of it again," she points a finger at him.

He smiles, "Understood." He sets her back on the ground but keeps his arms around her, "So, what's the plan now?"

"I don't know," she tells him. "I haven't thought much about it."

"So you spent the last four months not even thinking about what you would want to do when you saw me again?" He raises an eyebrow.

"Well, I mean, I have a few ideas," she smiles slyly as she stands on her tiptoes to ghost her lips over his.

He captures her lips in a soft kiss before pulling away and resting his forehead against hers. "I meant besides that," he smiles. "Because there will be plenty of that later."

"You're right," she says, pulling back slightly. "And actually, I have been thinking about what I want to do."

"And that would be?"

"I want to get out of here. Away from SHIELD, from everything. Just you and me, traveling the world together, like we planned on doing from the start."

"You really want to get away?" he asks her. "Are you sure? Coulson doesn't want you stay at SHIELD?"

"I want Skye to do whatever she wants to do," Coulson speaks up as he approaches the pair.

"Coulson," Grant says as he gives the older man a nod of his head in acknowledgment.

"Ward," Coulson gives him a nod back. He turns his attention to the two of them, "As I was saying, I want Skye to do as she pleases. While I may not be your biggest fan, Ward, I know you'll do anything and everything to keep her safe. I can tell you both love each other a great deal and Skye is happy with you around."

"So you're not upset I'm going to be leaving?" Skye asks him.

"Of course I'm a little upset," he tells her. "I was hoping you'd be one of my best agents. But I also don't want to stand in the way of your happiness. If being with Ward and away from SHIELD is what will make you truly happy, I'm not going to keep you from doing so."

Skye smiles at him and then steps forward to hug him, "Thank you."

He smiles and returns the hug, "Anything for you. You know that."

Skye pulls away and wipes away a few tears from her face, "Yeah, I do. And I promise I won't cut ties off with you completely. I'll send you messages and pictures, so you know I'm still safe."

"I'd like that," Coulson smiles. "And I won't show anyone else, unless you want me to."

"You can show anyone who's actually interested. I'm sure there are a few people who won't be interested because I'm with Grant," she looks down at the ground.

"Hey," Coulson speaks up, getting her attention again, "don't worry about them. Don't let their negativity bring down your happiness."

Skye gives him a small smile, "I won't. And I know you care, so that's all that really matters. And Bobbi would probably like to know I'm doing okay every once in a while. Probably Hunter to."

"I'm sure they would," Coulson smiles. "Especially since Bobbi was really looking out for you over the past few months."

"She was?" Grant asks, his brow furrowed.

Skye looks at him, "Yeah. She was kind of the only one I could really talk to about you. She's the only one who would really listen. And she uh, she helped me when I got really drunk. She's been keeping an eye on me and making sure I'm okay."

"Remind me to send her some kind of thank you later on."

"I'm sure she'd appreciate it," Skye smiles. She turns back to Coulson, "So I guess this is it, then."

"You aren't coming back to gather your things?" He asks her.

She shakes her head, "No. I don't have much left at the base. Most of my stuff I took last time Grant and I left. I think I mainly just have clothes left there. And I can always buy more clothes."

"All your stuff is still where we left it last time," Grant tells her. "I think it's still pretty safe there, so we can go back and get what you need. Then we can start living our lives." He smiles at her.

She smiles back, "Sounds perfect." She reaches out and grabs his hand in her own, linking their fingers together. She looks back at Coulson, "Thanks again, Coulson. For everything."

"Of course," he smiles. "I'm sad to see you go, but promise me you'll do everything you've ever wanted to do."

"I will, I promise."

"Good," Coulson smiles. "Now get going."

"What are you going to tell everyone else?" Skye asks him.

He shrugs, "The truth. If you don't mind."

"It's fine," she says. "You can tell them who I'm with. Because as long as I'm actually with him and happy, no one else's opinion matters."

"That's what I like to hear," Coulson tells her. "Now go. And Ward."

"Yes?"

"I'm trusting you that you'll keep her safe."

"On my life," Grant says seriously.

"Which it hopefully won't come down to that," Skye says to both Grant and Coulson. She looks up at Grant, "Now come on, let's go."

"Right," he smiles down at her. "What do you want to do first?" He asks her as they make their way down the street.

"I don't know," she replies, leaning against him as they walk. "I guess we'll just see where the days take us."

"Sounds like a plan," he smiles down at her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

* * *

*1 ½ years later*

" _Agent Morse, Agent Hunter, would you both please come up to my office."_

"What'd you two do now?" One of the younger agents speaks up. "Get caught banging in the broom closet again?" He laughs to himself.

"Zip it, Lawrence," Bobbi says to the agent. "Or you'll regret opening your mouth."

The young agent sinks down lower into his chair.

"Come on, Bob," Lance says to her. "Leave the new kid alone and let's go to Coulson's office."

Bobbi sighs, "Fine. Let's go." She turns around and makes her way out of the lounge room, walking in the direction of Coulson's office. Lance follows right behind her.

"You know he only says stuff to get to you, right?" Lance says as they make their way through the base.

"Yeah, well, he needs to learn to hold his tongue."

"And you need to lighten up a bit, Bob. You're a bit more tightly wound than usual, and people might start to notice. We said we wanted to keep this a secret until we know for sure everything's okay."

Bobbi sighs, "Yeah, I know."

"Good," he says as they reach the door to Coulson's office. He raises his hand knocks on the door.

"Come in," they hear from the other side.

Pushing the door open, Bobbi and Lance make their way inside.

"You wanted to see us, sir?" Bobbi speaks up.

"Yes, I got another letter from Skye earlier."

A smile instantly grows on Bobbi's face, "Really? What does it say? Any pictures?"

"Here," he hands his laptop over to Bobbi and Lance, allowing them to see the message. "I've already read it."

Bobbi accepts the laptop and turns it so she and Lance can both see it.

 _Coulson, Bobbi, and Lance_

 _Sorry it's been so long since I've written to you guys. It's been almost six months since the last letter I sent you. Well, you should know things are going really great for me and Grant right now. As you already know, we decided to finally pick a place to settle down after having traveled the globe for an entire year. It's amazing that we were able to visit every place we've ever wanted to in just the span of a year. It was definitely a crazy adventure, and now we're starting on the craziest adventure ever. Domesticity. :) I'm sure it'll be interesting to see what happens over time._

 _The town we picked to live in is a pretty nice community, a lot of really great people here. Our house is nice too, and our neighbors are great, very welcoming. The weekend we moved in, our next door neighbors put together a Welcome to the Neighborhood party of sorts for us. It was very sweet, and I think Grant has developed a bromance with our neighbor Henry. They're about the same age so it makes some sense. And Henry's wife Rachel is already one of my best friends out here. She's super sweet and has helped me out on more than one occasion while we were getting settled._

 _Grant and I also managed to get jobs around town pretty quickly after we moved in. Grant's working as an instructor at a Martial Arts studio. I've sat in on a couple of his classes, just to watch, and he's a really great instructor. I wasn't sure how he was going to do, because doing Martial Arts is pretty different than the stuff they teach at the Academy. At least, I'm assuming it's different in some ways. But he caught on pretty quickly with how to teach at the studio. And he loves it there, he loves teaching the kids. And those kids love being in his class. I never thought I'd live to see the day when Grant Ward had a smile on his face while being surrounded by small children, and then give a full-bellied laugh when they all tackled him at the end of the class. It was definitely a sight I can get used to._

 _As for myself, I got a job at the middle school in town, working as their technical support, I guess you could say. Apparently the last person working there was super old and got confused a lot of the time and their software was way out of date, kept crashing. So they were very grateful when I showed up asking about a job. The interview was pretty quick and painless. Even though I don't have a degree in the "technical arts", after I showed them what I'm capable of, they were pretty happy to have me there. I've done a lot for them already; patched up some of the holes they had in their firewalls, replaced their computer software. It's pretty great; I've got my own little office and everything. I love it. It's quiet and not super exciting like my work used to be, but it's actually kind of pleasant in a way._

 _Okay, now that all that is taken care of, what I'm really writing to tell you guys about is something super exciting that happened to Grant and I just the other day. We got married! :) I'm sorry I didn't invite you guys or let you know, but uh, I didn't really want people here asking too many questions about our life before. There are a lot of things I don't want them to know about. Not that I don't want them to know you guys, because I would love nothing more than for that to happen. But I just don't want those two separate parts of my life colliding. I don't think that'd go very well._

 _But it was a beautiful ceremony. We had it in the backyard of our house; it's a pretty spacious backyard so it worked. Rachel helped me do a lot of the planning and decorating, though I did make Grant help me with a lot of the finer details. We had the ceremony in the late afternoon, when it started to cool down a bit from earlier in the day. We had the local priest here do the ceremony for us; he's a really nice guy. He kind of reminds me of you a little bit, Coulson. Anyways, the ceremony was amazing; I will admit I cried a bit. But how could I not? I'm finally married to the man I love with all my heart. Grant cried too, though if you were to ask him, he'd probably deny it._

 _After the ceremony, we transformed the backyard into the reception area. One of our neighbors is actually a DJ for parties and special events, so he offered to DJ for us. He's actually really, really good. Kept everyone dancing and on their feet the whole night. The reception went pretty late into the night because no one wanted to leave; they were all having too much fun. Not everyone stayed super late, because some of them had to leave to get their kids into bed. But a few of our friends that don't have kids or didn't have to be in bed early, stayed late and talked with us. Henry and Rachel helped us clean up, even though we told them they didn't have to. But they insisted, so we let them. We also let their two children crash on our couch because it was super late when they helped us clean up._

 _We left early that morning for our honeymoon. Which is where we're at right now. It was really hard to pick a place for the honeymoon, considering we've been pretty much everywhere. So we decided on just a cute little beach on the coast. We got ourselves a hotel right near the ocean and the view is incredible. We've been here for a few days and we love it. We'll be here for a few more days before going home. Before we get back to our lives and start living as a married couple._

 _Maybe one day we'll have you guys out here. Maybe one day you can come out here and meet our new friends, see how we're living now. I don't know when we'll have you out, Grant and I'll have to discuss it, find a time when it's right for all of us, but I want to see you guys again. Especially you three. The three of you are the only ones who were really there for me after the incident, and didn't try to discourage me from loving Grant or leaving with him. So thank you. So much. I love you guys more than you can know. And I know Grant appreciates you all as well, even if he won't say it out loud._

 _Okay, I think that's about it for this letter. I know it was a lot, but there was so much to catch you guys up on. I would write more, but I think Grant really wants to go down to the beach again, even though we've been going there every day since we got here. I'm pretty sure he was deprived of this luxury as a child, so it's really cute to get to see him get all excited about it. Okay, I'm done now. I'll write to you again when I find the chance to, and when there's something to tell you guys._

 _Love you all,_

 _Skye and Grant_

 _P.S.: There are a couple photos attached at the bottom. I think you'll like them. :)_

Scrolling down the screen just a bit more, Bobbi clicks on the attachments button at the bottom of the e-mail, waiting for the images to download. She looks up at Coulson while waiting.

"Have you looked at the pictures yet?"

He shakes his head, "Figured I'd wait for you guys. I have read the letter though. They finally got married."

"I know," Bobbi smiles. "I'm really happy for them."

"Me too," Lance says. "Surprisingly. I mean, I usually try and advise any man I can to avoid marriage because it is not all it's hyped up to be."

Bobbi rolls her eyes, "Oh, shut up."

"Why do you have to be like that?" he questions.

"Ooh, the pictures are ready," Bobbi ignores Lance, clicking on the newly downloaded photographs. "There's a few here," she sets the laptop on the desk and turns it so the two men can see the screen as well.

The first photo on the screen is a standard new house picture. Grant and Skye are standing in front of their newly purchased home; Grant's arm is wrapped around Skye's waist, holding her close. They both have wide smiles on their faces, and Skye is holding the SOLD sign in her hands.

"Aww," Bobbi smiles, "their house is so cute. Now I really want to go and see it."

"Maybe someday," Coulson speaks up. "Just like Skye said."

"Yeah," Bobbi nods her head. She clicks on the next photo and smiles. "I think this is from that weekend when their neighbors threw them that party."

The image shows Skye sitting on the edge of an in-ground pool, her feet dangling in the water. A little boy with lighter red hair is nestled in Skye's arms, a blank expression on his face. A little girl with dark red, curly hair is sitting next to Skye, smiling big for the camera. Grant is standing on the other side of the little girl, one of her tiny arms wrapped around his neck to pull him closer; he has a wide smile on his face as well.

"Who're the kids?" Lance asks.

"Probably one of the neighbor's kids," Bobbi tells him.

"Never thought I'd see Ward looking so comfortable with a kid next to him," Coulson speaks up.

"Yeah, well, you see something new every day," Bobbi tells him, clicking on the next photo.

It's a picture of Skye in the middle of what seems to be a martial arts studio. It's a close up of her face, with Grant in the background, surrounded by a group of kids, all of them looking up at him expectantly.

"That must be the karate class he teaches," Coulson speaks up.

"Skye was right, those kids do seem to like him," Lance says.

"Hang on, I think it's a video," Bobbi says, clicking on the play button for the video.

The video opens up on Skye's face, smiling wide. _"Watch this,"_ she says into the camera and then turns it around so it's facing Grant. The sound isn't very loud, but the image is very clear. It shows Grant standing on the end of a red mat, speaking to the group of kids lined up in front of him. After a minute, all the kids start moving about, doing different moves. At the end of the video, it shows Grant standing at the edge of the mat once again, talking to the group. He gives a small nod of his head before all of the kids run towards him and tackle him in a hug. The video turns back around so Skye is in view, smiling. _"He's so great with them,"_ she says into the camera and then gives a small wave before the video stops.

"That was so sweet," Bobbi smiles.

"Yeah, I suppose so," Lance says.

"There's a couple more," Bobbi tells them, clicking on the next photo.

It's a photo of Grant and Skye's wedding day. The pair is in the middle of the yard, on a large piece of something put together for a dance floor. They are standing close together, Grant's hands wrapped around her waist, while hers are wrapped around his torso. Skye's head is resting on his chest, her eyes closed and a happy smile on her face. Grant's cheek is resting on top of Skye's head, an equally happy smile playing at his lips.

"Wow," Bobbi smiles. "He really does love her."

"Did you ever doubt it for a second?" Coulson asks.

"Not really," Bobbi replies. "From the way Skye always talked about him to me, I know for a fact he loves her."

"There's one more picture," Lance points out, gesturing to the computer screen. Bobbi moves the cursor and clicks on the final photo.

It's an image of Grant and Skye sitting in the sand at a beach. The sun is shining, and they both have smiles and sunglasses on their faces. Skye is sitting in front of Grant, between his legs. His arms are wrapped tightly around her middle, his chin resting on the top of her head. Her hands are on top of his, their fingers linked together.

"They seem really happy wherever they're at," Bobbi comments, smiling at the photo in front of her. "I'm glad they got out."

"Yeah, same here," Lance agrees. "I mean, it's hard to have that kind of life when you work for an organization that deals with the weird stuff on a day-to-day basis. So it's good they got out. Some people can only take so much of this before they need to escape."

"And they got a fresh start," Coulson adds. "Skye most likely created new identities for themselves, considering I had her wipe all of our identities from the system when SHIELD fell. Nothing about them is online, so she probably went through and created whole new back stories for them. Well, I'm assuming she kept some kernels of the truth in there."

"Because it's much easier to lie when you're staying close to the truth," Bobbi says.

Coulson nods his head. "I guess I can say I'm glad they got out too. Even if Skye decided she wanted to stay, it's not like Ward would have felt at place here. The only people he actually cared somewhat about hate his guts. And no one else wants to have anything to do with him, because they all know what he's done."

"And let's hope none of that finds them, wherever they are," Bobbi speaks. "Because that would really suck."

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Coulson tells her. "When Ward was gone for those months, he was taking care of things, I guess. Making sure no one would ever come after him or Skye again. I don't know exactly what he meant by that, and I don't think I ever want to know. Just as long as Skye is safe, I'm happy."

* * *

 **So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below.**

 **And before anyone asks, there is going to be a sequel to this. It's going to be called** _A Fresh Start_ **and I'm not sure yet how many chapters it'll be or when I'll post it. So keep an eye out for that if you want to.**

 **Until next time,  
Jellybean96 out!**


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